Lord Emperor Kane
by OverWarlord
Summary: 200-ish years before Nazarick arrives. Takes place on the other side of the world. OC Kane, Book/Volume/Part 2. Part 1 14th Unremembered Hero. Rated M for future bits...and because i like the safety of this rating so i can add whatever i happen to feel like writing :)
1. Chapter 1: A new beginning

Chapter 1: Emperor Kane and other Powers

Emperor Kane walked the down a hallway made of marble, followed by a sortie of attendants and aids, planning his next course of action for his nation. The various non-human tribes had, for the most part, all been subdued to a point where they couldn't possibly mount an effective resistance. The only worry he had was that of the southern nations.

It had been a considerable amount of time since he had come to the continent of Rashanin, but within a few years he had managed to carve out his own empire. The empire of Carthax. He named it in memory of the two nations he'd single-handedly conquered to create Carthax. The nation of carlosi and the city states of Althaxion. He sometimes mused what was going on in the other continents of the world...

"My lord Emperor, there are other reports as well concerning a possible non-humans alliance from the scattered tribes across all Rashanin, and the rebels that.."

Ah, yes the rebels, Kane thought, those prideful fools who thought to overthrow him;or at the very least, destroy what he'd managed to build:A thriving empire that was economically, militarily, and scientifically greater than anywhere else in the entire world...at least to his knowledge. The fools! Those power hungry, stuck-up, prideful 'nobles' of the former nations now called Carthax were soo darn spitefull!

"Also, the latest reports from the borders with the southern nations of Galatar and Saio'Shae and thier recent alliance to repel us. The most recent estimates of troops they have amassed has exceeded 250,000, sire"

Galatar was something like a germanic and scandinavion mix of his original world, A weird cross between southern and northern Europe. While Saio'Shae was something akin to the country of ancient China from Earth. From customs, to appearances, even the history(if only in a generalized sense), not to mention their border wall that was not unlike the Roble Kingdom's on the other side of the world...how are they doing he wondered...It had been a long time since he had saved them from the beastmen invasion and drew-up plans for the forts...are they done being built yet?

"Hmmm, thanks for the update Steven" he told his informant in a distracted manner. Steven bowed and fell back to a respectfull distance. Turning a corner and continuing on past a crossing corridor, a glint caught Kane's eye as something flashed from down the way of the perpindicular, intersecting hallway.

Clang!

Gasps are heard as Kane had grabbed a bolt with his gauntleted fist in mid-air that had been intended for his face. He had not seen, however, the bolt from the other direction that had been fired momentarily after the first. It had struck his upper-back, close to the open area of his neck where his armor ended. It was times like these that reminded Kane why he bothered wearing his armor in the palace...besides, it simply wouldn't do for those around him to see something like a bolt simply bounce off his skin. Yes, the armor was easier to accept than that.

"After them! Don't let them get away!" the captain of Kane's 'royal gaurd' shouted.

Kane just sighed, those damn nobles again, he was sure of it...was this the hundredth attempt at his assissination or the 200th? He couldn't keep track of such things anymore. With that thought Kane did what he normaly did in these situations...he used his might and magic power to, as some may call it 'shame' his gaurd, quickly grab his assailent before they could get far by using BLINK.

"Aaaaghh! Let go of me!" a shrill woman's voice yelled, as he grabbed her arm after BLINK'ing to her. "Now, why would i do that after you just tried to kill me?" Kane asked the would-be assassin. 'Let me go' after trying to kill a ruler? That was just absurd...

"Let go!"-she continued, hitting him and yanking on her arm trying to get free...it was futile. "As you wish" Kane said calmly as he gave her a casual toss behind him and into the gaurds who were still running towards him. "Put her in the B-block cells"-Kane commanded without even looking at his 'gaurds'. They were, for all practicality, just for show in the end. Though, he pondered, were probably better than most.

The Royal Gaurd that was, all but forced upon him by the remainling 'loyalists'-non-rebeling nobles', were the 'best-of-the-best. Then, Kane would take them asside and give them special, personaly made equipment to enhance their natural talents and abilities. Then train them fairly harshly...some had died early on before he laxxed it, they were only human after all.

"Sire! The other attacker appears to be of Saio'Shae decent or, more likely, opperatives!"-Gaurd

"So they've begun making their move against me then, well, not that its unexpected of course"-Kane half-laughs.

Kane kept on as nothing had really changed, and indeed, this had gotten to the point of being the 'norm'. The nobles no longer protested vehementaly either as they seemed used to it...and probably because Kane never really seemed to care.

Continuing on Kane entered his throne hall and everyone inside immediately kneeled, bowed, or even prostrated themselves before him. Usualy the prostraters were the average folk who seemed to have made him out to be their new god. Well, when you look at most of the himan's gods, he supposed he was, in that sense, one of them...the newest and only living god to currently walk among them. He had tried to stop it...in the beginning, but he had stopped and finally accepted or rather, tried to ignore it.

Sitting on the uncomfortable throne, made as such to hammer home the importance of what the one who sat in it was doing, so no matter who sat in it, would never feel comfort...fitting he had though, but now he'd rather sit on the floor if he were being honest.

"So who's first?"-Kane sighed at the noble's in a tired manner.

They all looked at one-another and/or at the floor, they sensed what had happened. They though he was in a bad mood and perhaps he really was he realised...but, in reality, he simply didn't want to be here...with them. Except maybe Clarissa, she was a beauty...now if i could just..

"I-I guess i'll be first, my lord emperor Kane"-An elderly noble said nervously, sensing Kane's current mood.

"Just get on with it, and skip the pleasentries, i neither like nor have time to waste on such" Kane told the fellow.  
"That goes for the rest of you as well"-Kane added, looking around the room, seeing who would make eye-contact and who would not.

Umm, ah, yes, well.."-nervous hesitating stammer...Kane grumbled his displeasure"What is it allready?!" "Out with it"

"Well, sire, umm, we are actually low on materials for the fortifications you had requested of the capital to be built...a-and we're behind schedule..."-old noble said, fearing displeasing a possible god that sat in front of him.

Kane sighed for what seemed the millionth time today...it was going to be another long one, he could tell already.

"Okay, then here's what your going to do..."-Kane began listing for him to do, while he chuckled inwardly at the assassins remark of 'let me go' after trying to kill him. It was quite comical, really, it helped put a smile on his face as he dealt with these people. No matter where you were, what world he was in, all 'noble's were the same...

Somehwere to the far south:

The enire alliance between Galatar and Saio'Shae was only about continued existance for their respective nations. The newly formed Empire of Carthax and it's emperor 'Kane' had appeared only a handful of years ago and now held nearly the entire northern half of the continent. The king and emperor of the alliance had always had disputes and wars in the past. It was very much like two people who hated each other had teamed up in the interest of self-preservation.

The king was Roman de Louche the 3rd, while the emperor was Lao Tsai.

Roman was once again, expressing his concern over the fortifications being built within the empire of Carthax to Lao. Arguing that they should invade with all haste before they were finished buiding them or they would suffer grave numbers of casualties. This barbarion, in Lao's eyes, needed to be silenced. His ears were begining to sting from the rough sounding words of the Galatar language. Though each-other's languages were nearly a national secondary standard within their own nation's, this brute refused to speak to him in his native tongue.

"Yes, yes Roman, i am acutely aware as you have said this everyday for the past week"-Lao

"Then why won't you agree to move against the enemy!"A frustrated Roman said

"Because, though we may gain ground in the short-term, we would eventualy lose in the long-term should we move now"-Lao said, ecpertly controling his emotions.

"As always, our primary concern is this new emperor, Lao squinted his eyes further at the though of someone else calling themselves such, who is by all accounts, someone of extraordinary ability. Or have you forgotten how he has single-handedly taken out 2 nations' armies by himself?"-Lao asked his counterpart in a patient manner, as though instructing a student as a sensai.

The idiot, 'Roman' storms out of the mutual command post.

*What a fool! We must first get rid of this 'Kane' before we invade and when we do, i fully intend to get the majority of land held to add to my domain. And then, 'king', your lands will be mine as well*-Lao smiles at the pleasent thoughts of what he'd do to his hated enemy and his people as slaves.

Away from the mainland continent of Rashanin, the island continent of Kinaire:

"Divine King, Gilgamesh, we have received reports of a great war happening on Rashanin where a supposed god-emperor has appeared"

"Hmmm? This sounds amusing, do tell"-Gilgamesh smiled pleasently while sipping his Ambrosia, as the rest trembled in fear. For most messengers never lasted a year before they were killed for simply bringing news of something displeasing. Kinaire was ruled by an all-powerfull tyrant, a child of the gods...

(Gilgamesh from fate/stay nite series is basically the description of this guy to the 'T'...for tyrant?)

Kinaire is much like an ancient Egyptian nation +4000 years with Gilgamesh as its tyranical leader. Contact with other nations is purely by trade of goods, including slaves. There are great pyramids thoughout the island continent as well as large obelisks rising into the sky in every city. The nation is heavily influenced by worship, slavery, trade, as well as magic and similar arcane arts such as alchemy.

Somewhere among the many islands of Aligreppo:

"We should launch raids on the mainland while their attention is turned elsewhere"-One hooded figure said

"I agree, we have not had such a ripe opportunity in our lifetime" -Another figure in purplish robes said

"This may be a ruse to take out our fleets, we should not be careless"-A figure in a yellow hoody type jacket warned.

"Agreed, i also advise caution, as well as my consent to pillage the rich lands"-A figure in red states

"Very well, the majority agrees to increase our fortune by sacking the mainland, any against?"-A figure at the head of the table says.

"No? Then, it is agreed. Begin preparing the fleets, we'll set sail within the week!"

The commanders of the pirate nation's fleets began their preperations for assauling the mainland. As pirating is the only real thing keeping the fragile alliance together, they often only meet to discuss who or where the next target will be. After countless generations of cross-island warfare, a shaky coalition had been formed in the past century. Each islands' inhabitants varied in appearance, with it's own customs and beliefes.

Piracy and war was the only thing they all had in common and they all did it well. After all, they did have the largest and most experienced naval force in the world... 


	2. Chapter 2

Too much of being in a hurry with chapter 1, my bad.

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_ :

* _Being emperor is a lot harder than i thought it'd be_ * -Kane thought to himself.

He needed trustworthy people...people that weren't corruptible, ambitious, and at the same time, kind, wise, etc etc. The list for the former was always longer than the latter. But still, there were at least some he could trust...within certain areas at least.

Managing the daily paperwork was handled by the 'Administration of State' he had created. 'Paper-pushers', they regulated what he had to paper-wise, which ended up being little, thank their gods. If he had to do loads of paperwork on top of dealing with the snobby and arrogant noble's, he'd end up becoming a ruthless tyrant himself out of frustration he imagined.

* _Hmmm, didn't i hear something about a ruthless tyrant ruling an island nation to the west somewhere? Or maybe it was to the east?_ *-Kane suddenly wondered.

Apparently Kane had missed something he shouldn't have he surmised, by the looks everyone was giving him...* _What now?_ *

One of the people in the room had a terrified face..."What was that?"-Kane asked, to no one in particular.

*A _h, i see, my 'divinity' was called into question...again(sigh)_ *-Kane

He didn't really care about it unless it created problems...and he was trying to figure out if this was becoming one. The bishop in the room, who seemed to be seething in quiet rage answered; "My lord, this man is a heretic!"

"Oh ya, how so?"-Kane inquired.

"He said that you are no god!"-Bishop

"So? I've never actually called myself a god...though to certain extent, there are some great powers who may have called me a supreme being, i do not really consider myself as a god however..."-Kane then continues with; "I'm a being of incredible power, yes, but as long as it doesn't interfere with other people, or myself, i don't care what you call me. Just try not to say anything insulting, no one likes to be insulted..."-Kane testing the man's reaction to what he just said as the bishop starts stammering.

* _Still nothing huh?_ *

"If your unwilling to speak in my presense, leave"-Kane said as he makes eye contact with everyone in the room...or at least tries to.

Kane puts his palm to his face, he can't help it. They all want to be near him but won't, willingly, speak to him. It was aggravating and annoying, not to mention a bit rude as he saw it.

Using his _Telekinetic_ ability he floated a drink on air from a nearby table. The reactions were always amusing...eyes popping, gasps, averting eyes, maybe...contempt here and there? Interesting...

Taking a sip, he asked "Was there something i needed to hear?"

A stammered "No" chorused through-out the chamber. "Good, no need for me to be here then is there?" -Kane said with a smile as he stood up. Most people were a good 12inches shorter than he was so he tended to stand out when near them, regardless of what he wore or position in the heirarchy. Walking out, glass in hand, he strode away and into the halls of the imperial palace.

Stopping by an open balcony, he gazed down at the city at the bottom of the mountain.

* _It's hard to believe how much this city has grown in the past couple years..._ *. The capital city of Carthax, Tosu Aris he'd renamed it, it meant 'start anew'.

Fitting he had thought at the time since he was starting a new empire...the funny looks the people had went away after he told them what it meant and generally liked it now.

* _Another cloudy day huh_ *

"My lord?" The bishop from earlier said as he came up to him.

"Yes?"Kane said turning from the view of the now-sprawling city.

"Would you mind going into the city?"-the bishop cautiously asked

"Why?"-Kane asked in return

"Well, it'd do good for your publicity and the faithful would surely appreciate it..."-bishop

Kane groans a little on the inside.

"I can, for a little while, i suppose...would you like to go with me?"-Kane asked with a smile on his face.

* _Payment is due!_ *-Kane

The bishop perked up at that, "Yes, i very much would like that, me lord!"

Kane then grabbed him by the arm, turned and leapt from the balcony with a screaming bishop...Kane just laughed his a$$ off.

Midway down Kane summoned his _**Heosphoros**_ and cast **FLY** , slowing their descent greatly and landed. The bishop was shivering, likely recovering from having a near heart-attack, while Kane shivered with silent laughter.

The people on this side of the world were unfamiliar with tiered magic...much to Kane's benefit and surprise when compared to the other side of the world.

Kane's appearance, equipment, and company gave him away wherever he went. The masses prostrated, those of noble birth bowed, and other than that...it was an okay little jaunt from the palace, although he figured his Royal Guard captain would have something to say about this later when he was found to have left them behind again.

He was right about his earlier assumption as he went back the same way he had left after a few hours...to a waiting captain.

"Looking for me?"-Kane tries passing as being comical...it didn't appear to be working.

A furious captain just turns and stormed off, leaving Kane alone for the moment. The captain's people skills needed improvement but, by this world's standards, was excellent with weapons. Kane scoffs, the same was probably true of him as well...

Later that night...

Kane dodged another half-hearted swing of a new recruit. "If that's all you can do, you should leave now" -Kane told the newbie. The newbie took another swing and Kane sidestepped, turning his eyes to the one in charge of recruiting and said "Are you getting lax in your duties, Nala?" She didn't like that comment much, but Kane knew she also wouldn't take it to heart either.

"Newbie, if your afraid of hurting me, discard those presumptions now...because you cannot"-Kane said sternly. To prove his point, Kane didn't even bother dodging the strike, he simply pinched the blade swung with the recruit's full strength...the surprise was evident with eyes so wide it appeared as if a ghost or a dead loved one had appeared. "Swing again, as fast as you can"-Kane instructed.

The newbie attacked with all the skill that was available to her and...Kane stopped it by holding a single finger up to the blade, 'blocking' it. "See now?"-He asked

"Yes, Lord Kane"The girl said somewhat dejectedly. Kane turned to the rest;"Okay, i don't have all night, who's gonna show me what they got next?" he said expectantly. As a level 100 player playing soldier to a bunch of maybe level 20 somethings, he had no fear.

The occasional person that actually managed to scratch the surface of his skin or the very rare cut, enough to show a drop of blood, was immediately promoted to squad sergeant, or leader, upon displayed ability. Said number in the guard was at a sad half-dozen or so...perhaps a dozen when including the army too.

And unlike his predecessors', as long as they showed skill, anyone could join...any branch. Army, royal guard, the new branch of 'Marines' he had created, navy, whatever.

The next day...

Kane was particularly happy this morning as he hummed a 'strange' tune, while strolling the corridors. Kane was happy, and his perceived thoughts were evident to all as every skirt suddenly lifted up briefly as he came near.

Much to their owner's dismay and Kane's delight. Out loud he says the main verse "I ain't never seen an a$$ like that..."

Everyone around was unsure if that was good or bad, nor who it was about, since he'd said it as multiple skirts lifted. "Umm, me lord?"

"Hmm, hmmm, hmmmm, yes? what is it?"-Kane

...

"Ahahaha, don't mind me, please."-Kane brushes it off. With that, things returned to the 'norm' as the moment of happiness was interrupted.

Apparently, being a perceived god or emperor wasn't enough to deter the women from avoiding him, as he continued walking, the word had seemed to have spread quickly, as the corridors suddenly had a lack of maids. Kane sighed, "Just as well i suppose..."

"Lord Kane?"

"It was nothing, i simply sighed"-Kane informed

"Is there anyth.."

"It's fine"-Kane

Eventually coming to the 'war room' as he had called it, they began to discuss the upcoming war with the south.

"Lord Kane, we are vastly outnumbered and will require your assistance to over-come the adds."-His General of the Army stated the obvious.

"I'm aware, but i want you all to fight for a unified land so that it can stand the test of time"-Kane replied sagely.

Adding;"While i can win the war with my power alone, i feel that it's, umm, how do i say this?"

"Unfair, un-natural, and under-handed?"

"Isn't it wrong for a 'god' as you all seem to think of me as, to battle and kill mortal armies?"

"To fight something that is un-beatable?"

-"That's like straight-up cheating."

"My mind is already troubled as it is, having unified the north here, and to do it to the south as well..."-Kane shook his head, his remaining 'humanity' was already in taters as it was.

"No, i think i've given a good enough push to get you mortals to band together. If you're un-able or un-willing to mature, how can i trust you all with anything?"

"It's like a parent, waiting for their children to mature before handing them the family business..." At that, everyone in the room became troubled by his words. It was akin to being scolded by one's parents, Kane hoped that was what it was anyways.

"I suppose...i can part with this now that i've been here for a while, but...I've fought and killed many, before ever coming to Rashanin."

"I slew a daemon god and his daemon army of over 60,000, he was planning to destroy or enslave everything and everyone in the world"

"Then i went out to save a kingdom being invaded by a beastman army that could only be compared to the combined might of the south. Yet, the defenders persisted, they fought with everything they had, never willing to but, inevitably having to, retreat when not doing so meant pointless death."

"Yet, here i stand after saving them from that, with you saying that..."-Kane left it at that, as he stared at the general in the eyes.

Then asked; "Is my general...a coward?"

Silence and a stare met Kane's...

"My methods may be a bit cruel, yes, but it works"-Kane said and repeated his overall point and earlier statement;"i want you all to fight for a unified land so that it can stand the test of time, even without me".

"Many will die, i simply hoped to bring the estimated losses down..."-General said, looking down at the floor now.

"There will be no lasting gain without loss...-Kane

"Haven't we lost enough.."-General

"I displayed my power before all that, yet you all denied it...don't give me that crap, if your superiors are truly that incompetent, it's up to people in your position to cause a coup d'e'tat..."-Kane informed.

"An overthrow? That's absurd!"-General

"If you're truly a wise man, i'm sure you can find the justice for it in certain circumstances...just think, if you had accepted me then and thrown a coup', the sheer numbers of lives that would still be here..."-Kane, trailing off letting him think about it.

"I, i would likely not have even thought of needing your help...i..."-General trails off on the thoughts of what could've been if he'd simply overthrown the unworthy rulers of the past...

"What's past, is past. Don't dwell on what might've been's for long, i simply wanted you to realise it is all"-Kane

"So, other than the obvious, anything of note since i was last here for a meeting?"-Kane asked getting back to the subject at hand.

"Ummm, yes, we have reports that pirate activity is picking up on the coastlines"-the Strategic Adviser reported

"Isn't there always increased piracy during wars?"-Kane states the obvious.

"Normally, yes, but the scale at which this is happening...it's as if every pirate ship in the world is attacking every harbor and port city there is...of every nation"-the adviser evaluates upon the situation.

"I see...do you have an idea or plan for this?"-Kane asks.

"Unfortunately, no, we simply have no plan for something of this magnitude. We were not aware there could even be a quarter of this many pirates as we are seeing."-ad visor continues.

"So, defences must be increased for every port we got...leading to logistics and trade issues, hmmm"-Kane.

"I think that i'll head to the port city of Gartha tomorrow to setup a hasty defensive barrier, so their larger ships cant assault the city, but there'll still be troop issues..."-Kane continues...

* _So few troops! Well, a massive army attacked me so i retaliated...i suppose i didn't have to use the 'divine storm' ability either though..._ *Kane silently berated himself for the slaughter he had committed a couple years ago...

Port of Gartha:

Kane arrived just before dawn with a small detachment of royal guards at the edge of Gartha, near the sea, after using **PORTAL**.

After reminiscing about the past when he first came here, he set to work.

"Alright everyone, listen up!-Kane said, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm gonna use my power to create a barrier but, most of you need to go into the city and increase the size of the garrison"-Kane

...blank looks

"They won't doubt your authority, at least not for long..."-Kane assures them

After sitting on the hillside, watching the sun rise and the city come to life, allowing the guard to start organizing a stronger defense garrison, he decides to begin. He summons his _**Tessaiga**_ and begins his work of moving the land to his will.

 **SILENT MAGIC** ; **RAISE MOUNTAIN**

Right at the opening to the bay, nearly closing it off completely(oops, too big, agh whatever).

Of course it was rather dramatic too. The earth shook, great rumblings, sudden changes in the winds, and a giant shadow begins to race toward the port.

Kane could only imagine the dumbfounded looks on people's faces if the guards' around him yet were anything to go by.

(Kane snickers)

* _Hmmm, if i can flatten the top of the new mountain down, it'd make an excellent defensive fortification spot to protect the ships and people in the port...yeah, right at a choke point!_ *-Kane's pleased at his own idea.

"Hey! You all gather around! We're heading to the top of it!"

" **PORTAL** "

On the top of the mountain; *This may take some work* *Oh! I should've left someone at the last spot to tell the others where im at!* He pick someone at random and PORTAL's them to the previous location.

 **SILENT MAGIC** ; **CHURNING EARTH** , augmented with his _Telekenetic_ abilities, Kane set his mind of making an earthen bulwark against naval sieges...

Southern Alliance:

"Every one of our major ports are under attack by pirates or that 'Kane'!" -King Roman was saying...well, practically yelling.

"I learned of it the same time you did Roman"-Emperor Lao said calmly, at least on the outside.

"I do believe that it's the Aligreppo people responsible not a ploy by the enemy, since the attacks have hit every nation"-Lao

"This is a serious problem, Lao, we need to retaliate and free those ports or our armies will starve!"-Roman

"Agreed"-Lao replies flatly

Kinaire:

People in every city in the nation looked up at those who were perilously climbing the obelisks and attaching a strange feature to them. No one really knew what these things were, but if Gilgamesh says to do it, they do it.

"Hey, did ya hear the rumor that we may be going to war with the mainland nations soon?"-random person in street

"Ya, though i didn't think much of it till now"-another random person says looking up

"Ya it seems someone has set themselves up as a divine ruler, so Lord Gilgamesh will go after him i bet"-a 3rd person says.

A group of monks in silver-white robes with golden embroidery comes out of a building. None have visible features other than that they were hands weren't even visible, due to them being in the opposite's sleeve's. They soon shuffled out of site.

"The monks seem rather busy all of a sudden too"-4th random person says, watching said monks turn around the corner up the street.

"Things are getting interesting, hey?"1st person says

"For now, but war also has its downsides...like us getting drafted or killed"-2nd says in response.

The people of Kinaire continued to gossip about the recent bustle of activity within their nation...


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3:**_

Somewhere in the borders of Carthax:

The fortifications he had made around Gartha last week had been just in time. Within 2 days a pirate fleet had arrived, and much to their surprise, a fortified mountain awaited them. While there were some casualties on his side, he considered the battle a flawless victory. Perhaps a few dozen died on his side while thousands died on the enemy side. And the defenders had not even been from the army...just simple town defenders, not unlike the police fore of his original world, who mainly up-kept the local peace.

If there was a way to make cannons effectiveness drop to non-lethal, there would have been 0 casualties. Other than fanciful ideas such as force-fields, he had no ideas come to mind. Nothing at all that would be viable at mass-production in this world, yet anyways...

Currently, Kane was overlooking the new artillery he'd developed with the help of some 'alchemists', 'the old-world's version of chemists, be placed in strategic points in the Empire of Carthax at each fortified place he had ordered to be constructed. If the entire world invaded 10 years from now, he'd be more than ready...

Massive, crude, cranes hoisted long, tubular-shaped pipes into the air and over to towers within the fortifications. He had the 'forts' built as a 3-walled, 5-sided fortresses. The outer most walls, the largest of the walls, were constructed of only wood. Materials for them alone was a massive undertaking, given the time restrictions he had set. Entire forests had been cut down across the empire to make them.

The next wall, located in the middle of the superstructures, was made from a crude concrete mixture. It had taken a lot of trial and error with a few people on this side of the world who had discovered a variation of it and were using it as waterproof glue and hardening agent, though in small quantities till he arrived.

The 3rd wall, inner-most of the three, was entirely made of rock. Iron to be more precise, at least as much as could be had. Massive slags of iron, thicker than a man was tall, made the inner-most perimeter and the central domed-roof of the inner-most area of the structure. They had launched giant boulders against the first 1's construction to test the durability and Kane had found it sufficient.

(The superstructure fortresses are on a scale that are usually only seen in 40K-universe, like space marine fortresses?)

The first wall was 120 feet high, the 2nd wall was 140 feet high, and the inner-most wall was only 100 feet high. The towers at each intersecting corners of each wall were an additional 40 feet high to their corresponding walls on which they were built on. Each side of the outer-most wall was around 1,000 ft long and the other walls had similar proportions. Overall, the structure covered about a square mile at ground level. Veritable, super-sized and fortified castles.

He couldn't help but feel...accomplished, at his designs become reality, it was a good feeling indeed.

Given enough time, he could just do what he'd done at Gartha and create entire, fortified mountains all along the borders. However, he was not stopping at where those borders were currently at. Perhaps he'd eventually do so for all the ports on the continent, for now though, this was more than enough.

He thought it odd that people in this half of the world had discovered how to use sulfur, among other ingredients, to create a form of gunpowder and yet the rest of the world didn't even know of its existence... It was fairly new, yes, only discovered or at least implemented this century. Kane smiled, imagining himself as a kind of...Napoleon...with super powers.

"My lord, the daily conference in the throne hall will begin shortly, should we not go soon?"-Steven

"Ya, i suppose we should"-Kane said, as he took one last look at the fortress before **PORTAL** 'ing them back to the imperial palace at Tosu Aris.

Imperial throne hall:

"...as well. Also, since the start of the pirated attacks, all imports and exports have become nearly non-existent"-Civil adviser Celene was droning on.

(Insert internal groan for Kane)

Kane, having had enough sitting in that infernal throne, stood up and began pacing. Telling everyone to be at ease as he just wanted to 'stretch his legs'.

"Is there anything, in particular, that anyone wants me to do personally?"-He asked the assembled people.

Silence met his question, which of course, ticked him off a bit.

"Then why do i need to be here?"-Kane asked

"We-well, you're the emperor and so.."-Noble

"So what?"-Kane interrupted

"If i'm not doing anything productive here, then there's no point."-Kane

* _Hmmm, at this angle...Celene is pretty curvy..._ *-Kane

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Kane continued his pacing. * _Perhaps some hi-jinks are in order?_ *-Kane thought as he stopped pacing upon the thought.

Kane looked around at the assembled people and thought better of it. Someone suddenly burst through the doors.

"Lord Kane! Reports of a non-human army is attacking Alkor'lan!"-A young soldier exclaimed.

Alkor'lan was a near-by mountain town to the east, in the middle of Carthax, and was only a day or two away from Tosu Aris...

"Have a regiment assemble for war, and have them head to my 'traveling' grounds. I'll be there shortly"-Kane commanded.

"Right away my lord!"-The young soldier bowed and ran away to issue the order.

* _A demi-human army? I though i had scattered all the tribes months ago?_ *-Kane thought, confused at this development, yet also thankful for the distraction

"I do hope all of you will be more willing to talk with me on the morrow"-Kane said to those in the hall.

Walking out of the throne hall, Kane made his way to his assembling area where he used **PORTAL** for large transport operations.

Somewhere in the Atla mountains, 4 days ago:

(Atla mountain range is located in northern Carthax and stretches from coast to coast)

Strange and odd noises can be heard in a cavern within a mountain. Most people would have no clue that it was several different languages of demi-humans. Growls, grunts, hisses, and a weird choppy dialect of some kind.

The assembled...things, were arguing with each other about how to retake the homelands without being completely destroyed by the 'man' that had brought them so close to extinction. Most were content with taking revenge on any and all humans, wherever and whenever possible. The had formed the 'Memnar Alliance' out of self-preservation.

Fancy-looking Beastman; "We should attack their nearby city and immediately move on to the human city of Gartha!"

Snake-man; "Once we attacksss, theyssl huntss usses to'ss extinction thiss time i fear.."

A scaly humanoid; "Have they not already begun to do so?"-this 1's words were given great weight, all went silent when he spoke. Indeed, all creatures of the world had feared his kind till these 'players' began appearing in 'their' world. He was a dragon-lord, now considered ancient in his 3500 years of life.

Beast-man;"That's right! We should retaliate!"

Bear-cat thing; "I concurrs, we chimera's are nearly gone. Only few hundred of my tribe remain.."

Snake-man; "Thatss goess for uss as wellss..."

Dragon-lord; "Given time, i may be able to assemble other's of my kind for a counter-offensive that would be unstoppable, however, i fear doing so would take too long if your kind are to survive..."

The various beast-men still held the majority in non-humans' numbers, so it was likely that whatever they did would end up deciding the fates of the others. The dragon-lord being the exception to this. He had several small tribes of his lessor ilk under his domain: Mostly ice-dragons, with a few nature and fire dragons thrown in.

The dozen or so 'things' talked late into the night and eventually settled for attacking unsuspecting human settlements while they were busy playing war with each other. The dragon-lord was nervous about confronting the only danger on the continent, the 'Kane' man. But with support from his lesser kind, he should prevail...

Alkor'lan, present day:

Alkor'lan's sky was tinged a dark red as screams filled the air. An army of demi-human's had flooded down from the mountains where the town was situated. The town was easily defendable from the plains to the south since the other three directions had towering mountains. The mountains only served to herd the humans to their doom however as dragons had created a wall of flame to the southern entrance.

A multitude of dragons flew above in the crimson skies above the town, occasionally attacking the groups that would try to form a resistance to the onslaught. Pikes of ice, great fireballs, and clouds of deadly gases would periodically rain from the skies on the hapless human defenders.

The attack had begun just before dawn, though the town was kept in relative dark because of the looming mountains, and had continued all day. During all of this, none seemed to take note of a large fire that had flared to life when the attack began though...

(Think Lord of the rings, signal fire on mountains to spread word of, in this case-attack, to far away places)

Help arrived that evening, the following battle would likely be told for generations in the town there after...

Kane arrived at the outskirts of a ravaged mountain town. Bordered on three sides by mountains, it sort of looked like that one place from that old...ring movie, he didn't remember the name. Though instead of a keep, it was a town with a wall and gate on the south side. It did not appear to be of help to them though as the stones that it was composed of were melted, a sign that it had burned in some pretty intense flames a while ago.

Looking up he saw dragons; * _That would explain fire hot enough to melt stone into molten slag_ *-Kane thought. Giving a forward hand-wave motion he signaled his gathered troops to move out into the city.

"My lord, shouldn't some of us stay with you?"-A sergeant in the regiment asked.

"No, for i will be fighting up there"-Kane said, pointing to the dragons in the skies over-head.

Kane looked at the sergeant and smiled, saying "Good luck to you and the others', sergeant"

The sergeant saluted, and took off to rejoin his particular squad. Kane summoned _**Heosphoros**_ and cast **FLY**.

Rising into the sky, he began to set about him with extreme prejudice. The nearest, a green-colored dragon took his " **WIND BLADE** S" to the face and neck, effectively beheading the beast, and it tumbled down to ground below. The next dragon came down from above him, thinking to surprise-attack him, but Kane had beyond normal senses and felt it coming. Kane back-flipped in mid-air, out of the way of its gaping maw and used " **AIR-CUTTER** " to slash its under-side wide open.

It's insides poured forth in a sickening down-pour on the city below, the dragon continued it's downward flight-path to crash head-first into a 3-story building below.

Kane sensed an attack rapidly approaching so he used **BLINK** to dodge it. He had 'teleported' himself onto the back of another dragon at the right spot to see the attack on his last position. The dragon taking notice, let out a roar as Kane watched a multitude of ice spears pass through the spot he was just in.

The dragon roaring in anger that he was on it's back, decided to make it a roar of pain as he drove _**Heosphoros**_ into it's spine, paralyzing it. It promptly fell from the sky as it could no longer use its wings and Kane kicked off of it to head towards the ice-type that had used a magic attack.

Kane thought this was pretty bad-a$$, fighting scores of dragons alone, granted they were weak compared to Yggdrasil dragons and thus made all this possible, but still must've at least looked cool to any onlookers below he figured.

Kane used " **SONIC BOOM** " to de-stabilize a score of dragons and then used " **GALE** " to make them tumble backwards in an end-over-end kind of motion. Then, cast " **WIND BLADES** " at the entire tumbling group with a back-handed swing with his sword.

" **UNSEEN SHIELD**!" Kane yelled as he sensed something about to hit him that would likely hurt.

BOOM!

A crash was heard as a prismatic beam collided with Kane's defensive shield, composed of air-molecules...

It had collapsed under the un-yeilding beam attack, making a crashing, shattering, sound as the air exploded under the intense beam of magical energy.

"Aaghh! D(word)it that hurt!"-Kane said regaining his balance in the air, stopping his sudden fall in the air.

"Looks like something might be a bit dangerous to me here after-all!" Kane said, somewhat entranced by the thought of fighting something that could break down his defenses and hurt him.

Kane saw a humanoid dragon a distance away, just staring at him. Kane, figuring that must be his 'worthy' opponent, cast " **WINDSCAR** " at the dragonoid.

(Windscar-A cutting wind-attack that will search-out and hit the weak spot of the intended enemy target.)

(Inuyasha's special 'backlash wave' attack from the anime basically; for type and looks, but can be used at any given moment)

As Kane released the attack from the swing of his sword, he felt a few dragons rush in towards him from multiple angles, he smirked. " **BLINK** "

In the town below;

Certain demi-human's, such as beast-men, would start to devour any human they happened to catch alive. So there were numerous body parts and blood all over the streets and buildings when Kane's troops entered entered the city proper. Some were terrified at the sight while others were simply angered at the sights and smells of the atrocities committed by the non-humans'.

There, a half-eaten woman, gone from the waist down. Here, the remains of what was a young child that could not have been more than 7 years of age. There were remains of corpses everywhere, strewn along streets and in alleys, even inside the buildings that they could see through the windows. The only non-eaten corpses seemed to be the one's who were defenders, or at least those that had tried to fight back anyway...

All the troops' Kane had brought here began to understand a bit of the terrible fate that had befallen the people here, there was a growing, almost palpable hatred forming within the regiment as they systematically slaughtered any and all demi-humans they found still-munching on their fellow humans in alleyways and the like.

The main thing the troops began to realize, besides all the rest, were the severe lack of demi-humans that could be found for causing all this. A few here and there, having a 'snack', were not enough for something like this...so where were they? Where were the invaders!?

The emperor was battling above them in the skies among a horde of dragons, which would occasionally fall and crash into a nearby structure. A few had gotten hurt from flying debris from those thunderous crashes but they didn't mind. As long as they didn't have to battle dragons, they considered it as coincidental accidents(which they were).

There was one moment where a foul soup had rained from the sky...till they realized it was the guts of a large dragon that had come crashing down a few blocks ahead of them shortly after. The soldiers soon began praying for rain, to wash the stench of it all away. And to their surprise, they didn't have to wait for long as a great thundering crashes resounded though-out the sky, followed by strong winds and a torrential downpour...

Back in the sky;

Kane and this 'dragon-lord' were above the small, scattered clouds in their on-going duel that would be periodically interrupted by larger, yet, weaker dragons.

Every swing Kane made with _**Heosphoros**_ would create a vortex of buffeting winds, able to scatter and destroy dozens of normal fighters of this world. This however, did not seem to be enough to defeat his current adversary...

"You're pretty strong...how 'bout we kick it up a notch?"-Kane asked his foe, who which, looked...confused.

Summoning _**Mjolnir**_ , Kane cast " **GREATER THUNDER** " on the surprised dragon-lord.

A great crash of thunder and lightning lit the skies, rapidly heating the surrounding air, and causing rapidly-forming rain-clouds to drench those below the clouds. Using _**Mjolnir**_ 's and his own Telekinetic abilities, he willed the hammer to fly at his opponent at high speed as he held on to it.

A sonic boom was heard, and using the momentum to continue his forward advance, swung the hammer in hand in a 360 degree continuous motion; just like a 'spinning top'. Inadvertently he had moved and began swinging with such force that he'd made a miniature tornado that, fortunately, never reached the ground.

Dragon-lord pov:

'Kick things up a notch'? Was this Kane merely toying with him and his lesser kin this whole time!? All of a sudden, the man had a hammer that crackled with something like contained lightning, the sword from before had vanished. The next moment a 'pow' was heard and the man was nearly upon him!

The next thing the dragon-lord knew, there was a spinning vortex of air in front of him...What!? That was the last thought he had before an intense pain nearly ripped his left side from his body and the realization that he'd plummeted toward the ground after looking up at the clouds that had just been below him.

Roaring his pain, frustration, and fury; he used his **PRISMATIC BEAM** attack on his foe once more, firing straight through the now thunder-clouds and rain, toward the spot he knew his adversary was hovering, waiting for him...

Kane stopped his spinning motion after feeling the hammer connect with it's target. Hovering there, holding onto _**Mjolnir**_ to keep himself aloft, he waited for the dragon-lord to come back for retaliation...A flash of lightning lit up, then he saw a multi-colored beam rise toward him. Too late to move however, it hit him with full-force at first, before he lowered his weapon to brunt the damage he took.

"Son of a..!", " **MAXIMIZE MAGIC; CHAIN DRAGON LIGHTNING**!" -Kane cried out in retaliation as a column of inter-twining lightning in the shape of a dragon raced down through the storm-clouds he'd made to strike his foe.

Back on the ground:

Looking up at the sudden storm that had formed above, the soldiers saw something fall through the falling rain, making a kind of 'wake' as it fell. The wake perished and a sudden, multi-colored beam, shot up through the clouds from where it had come from. Seconds later it dissipated, and as if in retaliation to the 'beam', multiple bolts of lightning coiling around each other in the shape of a dragon lanced back out from the cloud to strike the one who released the 'beam' attack.

The troops were awed by such a fight happening in the clouds that they could only think of it as 'a battle of gods', for surely, no other beings were capable of such epic feats. The dragons flying in the sky, dancing around periodic bolts of stray lightning from the clouds, only added to the epic scenery of the battle.

Their Emperor was fighting a battle against dragons, and possibly, against the fabled dragon-lords of old. They all thumped their weapons on the ground or against their shields in salute to their god-emperor, fighting dragons above the clouds in the sky above...

Dragon-lord pov:

He smirked as he knew his attack had hit, he could both feel and hear it by the man's yell of pain. Lightning flashed all around him, he ignored it. It was only a thunder-storm that had been caused in their fight. Too late that he realized, one of those flashes of lightning was bigger than the rest, and it was in a mocking shape of his kin as it raced toward him from above the clouds. The following pain was paralyzingly intense as the massive volts and amps of electricity lanced through his entire being.

"AAaaaaghhhwr!"

The dragon-shaped lightning continued on to strike a few nearby, lesser kin, who fell from the skies as a result and in roars of pain that he completely sympathized with.

With a quick assessment of the situation he takes note of his current state, the remainder of dragons he had, and the lack of demi-humans who seemed to have moved on already. It was time to go. Sending a mental command to all those under his influence, ordered them to withdraw. He made his withdraw even more swiftly than they...

Back to Kane:

Kane knew his attacked had hit a couple others besides it intended target, then said target seemed to vanish after a few seconds. "huh, the dragon-lord fled it appears...along with those big dragons as well"-Kane

Lowering himself below the clouds to get a look around, rather difficult it turned out, saw that indeed the dragonic opponents were fleeing...only a few could be seen heading over the horizon to the northeast, above the mountains. It seemed he may need to make a journey to the far north of his realm.

Descending down near his troops, who seemed to be eyeing his hammer, _**Mjolnir**_ , and himself in a reverent manner; suddenly broke out in yells of victory and approval...apparently they had been watching the little duel above.

Smiling, Kane said" How many survivors?" The troops looked at one-another, then up to him, then at the ground. "We found no survivors, lord, only dead fighters and half-eaten citizens..."

"The enemy?"-Kane inquired

"Other than a few munching on people's bodies here and there, none sire"-The Captain of the regiment replied.

"So, the demi-humans fled before you could engage in battle" "The dragon-lord and his big friends fled before i could finish them off..."-Kane says analyzing the outcome..."We failed the people of this town..." he said sadly.

"Any of you got ideas as to which town these non-human invaders will attack next?" -Kane asked the troops around him.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4:**_

Imperial capital, palace, royal bed-chambers;

Much to Kane's, and everyone else's joy, survivors had emerged from the massacre. They came from sewers and wells, hidden rooms and secret passage-ways, even a few from hay-stacks.

None had come out until the rain began to stop so Kane's soldiers had not found anyone during their initial progression through the city. The second time they scoured the town for the few beastmen and other creature's corpses to bring back and show emperor Kane the species they had found...all but 2 were beastmen.

The days following the events of Alkor'lan, Kane was in a rather foul mood. He had not been able to destroy the non-human army and to make it somewhat worse, he was unable to find them either. Though he doubted it was needed, he had stationed a sizable garrison at the nearly destroyed mountain town in case of a second attack.

He was depressed about the slaughter and his inability to reap vengeance on those who had attacked his nation, perhaps more so for considering the non-humans tribes incapable of such.

Though most died, the feats of his battle with that dragon-lord had further promoted his 'divinity' among the priesthood and other people that worshiped him as a god. Oh, if only they could accept him as a powerful person with their best-interests at heart instead of some kind of godly being!

The pirate attacks continued across the continent however, buying him extra time before his human enemies made an open attack against Carthax at least. The downside was that his, and everyone else's for that matter, logistics were severely hampered.

Trying to relax enough to nap he rolled onto his other side in his over-sized, yet luxurious bed. A soft almost unheard noise was heard as he rolled over, stopping when he did.

* _Great, another assassin on top of troubling thoughts. I suppose i should have some fun with this one..._ *-Kane thought.

Kane summoned _**Goujian**_ under his blankets and cast a silent **TIME-STOP**.

Taking his time he sat up and stretched a little, taking his 'time' before walking over to where the noise was heard. She was still in the shadows of the low light-giving sconces placed around the chamber.

A woman had been 'tip-toeing' towards his bed, holding a black-coated dagger behind her back. She seemingly only wore a nightgown, though he could 'see' there were nice curves underneath. Under the gown she wore the typical tight-fitting outfit that seemed so typical of the majority of assassins, the exception being that it was near-see through!

* _She must have convinced those in the hallway she was here to 'please' me..._ *-Kane thought with an accompanying chuckle.

* _If that's the case..._ *-Kane thought amusingly before impaling _**Goujian**_ into the floor.

...

 **TIME-STOP** ended and the assassin finished her mid-stride 'tip-toeing' before her eyes widened in shock. Her target was no longer in sight and she was naked!

"~Lookin' good~"-Kane said lecherously from behind her.

The assassin whirled around with her dagger raised to plunge the poisoned blade into the man. Kane quickly grabbed her arm by the wrist, twisted it back and down behind her. The sudden pain made her drop the weapon before Kane used his Telekinetic ability to toss and embed the blade into a wall on the other side of the room.

"Are my guards outside alive?"-Kane said on the off-chance she had killed them instead of lying.

She looked towards the door before answering, "Yes".

"That's good...any chance you'll tell me who sent ya?"

Silence met Kane, who performed a manuever to pin both her arms behind her in an 'x' before lifting her off the ground to look her straight in the eyes. He knew this had to be unpleasant, especially from the way she gasped.

"Well?"-Was all Kane said.

The woman just looked to the side, refusing to look him in the eyes, silence is all that came from her.

"Very well then"-Kane said before turning with her still off the floor, he got in behind her before she started thinking of kicking him, and 'gently' smashed the front of her into a nearby wall.

"I dislike being ignored"-Kane said irratatedly and 'slammed' her into the wall again to drive his point home.

"I will never betray a client!"-she said, though a bit muffled from the wall and a broken nose.

"I like that resolve of yours...but"-As Kane said 'but' he pressed his 'man-hood' against her backside, "how long will that last i wonder?"-Kane continued his taunting.

Since he doubted she'd crack under threat of pain, he decided to threaten rape.

He didn't plan on actually doing such of course, but it did make him think of something a priest had mentioned to him. Something about siring heirs...he'd been asked if he'd ever take an empress, but he knew right away what they were getting at...children.

He still wasn't sure about that. After all, he had a daughter back on earth, he wondered how she was doing now that it'd been years since he last saw her...

Besides, he'd met the Slane Theocracy's 'God-kin' some years back. They were the descendants of children that were sired by players who'd arrived centuries before, though the players seemed to be worshiped as gods...

The assassin whimpered at the thought of being 'used' by this man as he seemed to be getting aroused. The very man she'd been sent to kill, to prevent thousands from dying at his hands, more so than he was already accountable for, and!

She steeled herself against what was to come..."Never!" she muffle-yelled against the wall.

Kane smirked as his thoughts of his past life were interrupted by this fearless assassin.

Kane then swung her around and let go so she flew over and onto his bed. "Good resolve, no fear...i like people like you..."-Kane said playfully with smirk still in place as he took his time walking towards her.

Her eyes fell on the runic blade of _**Goujian**_ embedded into the floor near the end of the bed. Kane stood still and looked from her to the blade and back again.

"If you can dislodge the weapon and swing it at me...i'll...i'll let you go free and...un-changed"-Kane said

The woman was doubtful and confused at the last part, but, none-the-less she dived off the bed and for the handle of the weapon.

Using her momentum and all her strength pulled/pushed the weapon, expecting to dislodge it, continue forwards in a roll with it and behead the arrogant man before her who simply stood there with an insufferable smirk on his face.

She had instead only nudged it however and now ended up on her back with her bruised arms still holding onto its handle.

Shock, the weapon would not budge further!

Starting to move and then stopping as if held by an unseen force...she looked towards the man with hate-filled eye's. "What are you doing?!"-she yelled at him.

"Nothing, _**Goujian**_ probably just considered you unworthy is all"-Kane simply said and to her confusion expounded on why;

" ** _Goujian_** is not bound by the laws governing space and time and thus cannot be affected by them, though it can, though limited, effect space-time itself. The wielder of _**Goujian**_ is effectively able to control time, even age itself"-Kane finished as he walked to the disbelieving woman that now opted to go retrieve her dagger on the wall since the sword was unable to be dislodged.

* _That's ridiculous! A sword that controls time! Ludicrous!_ *-She yelled in her mind as she raced toward the wall and looked back...

Kane watched in seemingly slow motion as she raced towards the dagger that was doubtlessly laced with poison. Reaching out for and grabbing hold of it with fear in her eyes. Kane moved to and raised _**Goujian**_ out of the floor with ease and then pointed it towards her " **REVERSE TIME** ".

The woman appeared to run in a backwards motion as she came back to Kane. Ending the spell and moving in front of her as she jumped backwards he waited for her to jump forward again and now towards him, not away.

"!"-her eyes widened as Kane appeared with the runic blade pointed down and left hand on top of the pommel with his right out-stretched to grab her once more as she finished her jump.

"Impossible!"-she cried unable to cope with this.

"Just you wait", " **AGE ENHANCE** "-Kane said as he watched in amazement as the debuff, now reality and true to its name, made the woman before him age rapidly till she had grey hair. Releasing the now old assassin, she dropped to the floor in a rasping heap.

"I must've aged you at least a good 50 years or more just now...just look at all that grey hair!"-Kane teased the woman.

"No way...it shouldn't be possible"-she panted, now finding breathing difficult. As she had aged it felt like all she had ever done had been done repeatedly, all at once, several times over within each second, but she was becoming soo tired beyond that...

* _soo sleepy_ *-she thought before realizing he may have taken nearly all her life-span.

"You look tired...perhaps i took too much?"-Kane mused aloud at her.

" **AGE REVERSE** "-Kane said, raising the blade and pointing it at her.

Watching this spectacle, of an old woman become young again, he took it further. Instead of bringing her back to around the 20's he brought her back to what he could reasonably guess to be about 9 or 10 years old.

He was somewhat hoping she'd remind him of his daughter, he was disappointed though, he should have known better.

"Hmmm"-Kane mused that if others learned of her entering to 'please' him and left as a 'child' all kinds of rumors would begin. The question was: would it be worth it? Would the amusement outweigh the problems? Probably not, but he needed something to liven up the palace.

* _Screw it, why not? A would-be assassin turned adopted child...well, adoption can be decided later i guess_ *-Kane mused as the 'child' seemed to be hyperventilating in contrast to previously having difficulty to even take a single breath.

Using _**Goujian**_ , Kane cast " **SKIP** " and appeared in the hallway outside to the great surprise of his 'guards'.

"Did i ever inform you that i would have a guest? Also, seriously? What kind of man do you think i am anyway?"-Kane began a short rant at the assembled royal guards.

Sighing he decided to tell them; "The woman you let inside was an assassin, though now she's nothing but a wizened child. Please go find some clothes that'll fit a kid" -Kane said to the confusion of his guards.

"Now, please"

Two guards ran off to find the clothes asked for while Kane led the rest of the royal guard detachment inside to see a woman's clothes on the floor nearby and some blood on a nearby wall. In the middle of the room, near the bed, was a young girl on her hands and knees breathing heavily.

"I first turned her into an old woman before this and it seems the stress of taking and giving back the years, along with changes in her physical form, have caused her beleaguered state. Though, i don't think...she'll die from it as she seems to have recovered somewhat already"-Kane told them.

The 'girl' looked up, ignoring the gaurds, at Kane with terror and wonder, and, an accompanying, trembling lip...

* _Is she gonna cry?_ *-Kane thought by the expression she had as she looked up at him...

"Ahahahaha, don't tell me your gonna start crying now...~little girl~"-Kane teased...

Kinaire;

The citizens of the island nation looked up in wonder at the great obelisks that every city had at least one of in wonder. They were currently emitting a powerful energy beam racing out from the tops in multiple directions, these directions were towards the nearest towns and cities that also had an obelisk.

What they didn't know was the purpose of these great monuments. For how could they? Gilgamesh rarely ever explained anything.

These obelisks connected to and supported each other, creating a vast grid, or network, of magical energies precisely tuned for Gilgamesh's control as he could influence his will upon them. They served as both a warning barrier and an offensive tower that would lash out with enhanced **LIGHTNING** 's at any who would dare threaten the homeland of the Kinaire nation. They were a first and last line of defensive and offensive fortifications. Today was the first experimental testing of operational functionality.

They were powered by the 'spark' as it was known there. Those who were born that could use arcane magic would inevitably become 'monks and priests, along with alchemists' within the nation. Few knew the truth as only a few learned their innate abilities through trial and error as teaching others was a state offense when it came to those with the 'spark'.

Gilgamesh had kept his people in the dark about magic, as his predecessor had, to further cement his own rule over the worthless masses. Now, those with the spark had a real purpose; to use their 'essence' to fuel the obelisks of old. The only real question was how long a given number of them would last to power any given one.

He was about to go to war with the mongrels of the world nearby but didn't want them to set their filthy feet upon his lands. Any ships nearby would be blasted apart from massive arcing bolts of energy fueled by the 'sparkers' 'essence'(mana).

There were just enough of these individuals to house 60 per obelisk. 20 were needed to fuel it but the length of time they'd be able to manage it was still in question. Though most of the energy itself came from the world around them, they still required a...tribute so to say.

Those trying to fly in would suffer a similar fate of course and those who used stealth and trickery to sneak in were in for their own surprise.

Today, as luck would have it, a great fleet of pirate ships descended upon the port cities on the coast. Lucky for him.

"How amusing! Entertainment at last!"-Gilgamesh said gleefully as he watched through an artifact that was, perhaps, from another age or even world. It was in the form of a mirror, allowing the user to view things from great distances away.

Currently, a massive bolt of energy lashed out from an obelisk and obliterated a large ship in the middle of the invading fleet. Debris, among other things, rained down and flew outward from the explosion onto or into other ships just before another ship suffered a fate much the same as the first.

A cold smile lit his face as he watched the carnage flow on the mirror.

"I do hope the sparkers' last long enough to destroy them all"-Gilgamesh said slowly.

"I do so like to see things through to the end..."

Southern alliance:

These pesky pirate attacks along the coastal cities were, irritatingly, successful. Trade and logistics for their massive army was disrupted, resulting in food shortages across the lands. Cities heading towards food riots and outlying villages being at the mercy of bandits and monsters.

A hindrance, a set-back in their...his plans to destroy or claim the lands of Carthax after dealing with Emperor Kane. He'd sent at least a hundred assassins after the man in the past year to no avail. The institution responsible for training them had begun refusing him as everyone they sent were never heard from again. 'Too many losses, we need a few years to recover', they had informed him after allowing their new protege to undertake the now-suicidal mission after volunteering for it.

Her skill with poison and stealth were now, currently, unrivaled within the 'assassins guild'. It was said that she could not be heard, even by a mouse, for a mouse would make more noise then her. He doubted it but had said nothing. That was 3 weeks ago now and reports of a demi-human and dragon-kin attack on a mountain town in central Carthax presented both troubling news and opportunity to attack.

An alliance of all non-human races was bad news indeed, especially one that included dragons, for obvious reasons. They were numerous, more powerful than the average human, and many would actually eat humans...so yes, not good at all.

Then there was the opportunity that came from it. With the Empire of Carthax busy repelling such a force, the 'alliance' forces could push into Carthax territory within immediate reprisal from that Kane. Though little has been reported other than that he fought a dragon-lord and its kin in the skies above Alkor'lan. He hoped his latest assassin would finally due the deed after a year of failure from those sent before her.

As Lao contemplated on launching an assault he sipped his tea just as the insufferable Roman barged in.

* _I thought he'd still be repelling the pirates...what n_ "-Lao was thinking when

"We should attack now! While they are being attacked from the north!"-Roman yelled as he barged in, feeling justified in his logic.

"I was just musing over doing that, though the emperor Kane can seemingly move vast distances in the blink of an eye, and can even bring others with him too. We need to-"-Lao

"Attack now! We can fall back if you insist or if the battle goes poorly, but either way i'm here to tell you that i'm making a move...with or without you"-King Roman announced.

Sighing, Emperor Lao placed his tea back down and stood. "Very well, but i advise hit and run tactics till we know what response to expect from Carthax"-Lao advised his idiot counterpart.

 _*I hope you get an arrow in your gut you fool!*_ -Lao shout-stared at the back of the king who was already leaving.


	5. Chapter 5

_***Short Chapter***_ By review request! Here's some life!

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5:**_

Southern-most city of Carthax: Illika

The great fortress the emperor had developed was nearly finished with construction. When the south attacked it became a place of shelter and refuge as thousands upon thousands of enemy soldiers attacked, much to the defenders dismay. The defending troops, out-numbered at least a hundred to one, now had to deal with the flood of civilians into the super-structure.

The city of Illika cast a flickering shade of orange as it burned to the ground, the setting. The screams of thousands of civilians, the background symphony. People screaming, the city aflame, the defenders... swarmed by enemies too numerous to count.

A runner had been sent with the message and warning but Captain Nathaniel knew that help would not arrive soon enough.

He assumed the entirety of the southern nations had attacked and accepted his fate upon the impending doom that he and his men would share together in these, last, hell-ish, moments.

Peasants screamed for help as they were either slain or raped, the men fighting 100-1 odds essentially being nothing more than a 'break-wall' before the tidal wave. Within the super-fortress of Illika, they could hold...for a time.

Armed with buckets only, you could not stop the tide...

The massive fortress was not yet finished. But it would buy time for people to flee from the onslaught...

Abandoning the outer-most wall, back to the secondary wall that was finished, the Captain consolidated his forces. Indeed, his encouraging speech would have inspired millions if it were ever heard by the masses of the world as the outer-most wall of the fortress burned in the background.

He steeled their hearts for their impending deaths. They were roughly 1/8 of Carthax's total fighting force (roughly 6k), against a force numbering no less than 150k. Survivors would consider nightfall the moment when 'hope died' for years to come...

Perhaps if the super-fortress of Illika had been finished, as it was planned to be, they would've been able to hold till reinforcements came...

Imperial Palace:

Kane awoke from his nap, groggy and tired. His inner voices noisier than usual. As always these past few years, he muted them to an annoying buzz in his ears. He didn't care what they had to say. Oh how he was missing that fabled 'cup a joe' in the mornings!

Stepping out of his rooms, he came to the familiar sight of guards and scribes awaiting to attend to him. Kane simply thought of them as babysitters and paper-pushers...

Making his way to the palace's version of the cafeteria, Kane heard nothing that was said to him. Food...breakfast...no coffee in years!

If a daemon had appeared, suddenly, and in front of him, he wouldn't have cared, maybe punch it and continue walking without missing a step. That was his attitude this morning...'frack off'.

...

Bored out of his mind, Kane sat on the throne, suffering through the droning of his scribes and related people on the current state of the nation.

Waiting for their turn, the nobility stood silently in the background, staring at him...

(Kane mentally bashes his head against a random wall)

Carthax, Illika:

The Captain was impressed by how long they'd lasted so far.

Most of the civilians that could, fled during the night, the last of which were last seen heading north as dawn rose.

The southerners were getting over the wall...he'd have to call the retreat soon to the inner-most 3rd wall. They could hold out better when there wasn't so much of a wall to cover. Too few left, too much wall, and hopeless for a chance at victory.

Just after the most recent barrage of catapult fire from the enemy crashed down on them he gave the order...

"Retreat to the inner-sanctum! Retreat to the inner wall! Retreat!"

As the captain moved down and towards the 3rd, inner-most wall, he saw from the corner of his eye that his adjutant was pincushioned with arrows. A burning, stinging pain filled his backside as he kept moving.

The next thing he knew, he was being helped by a young man. A civilian turned soldier during the night. When did he fall down? He didn't know.

After stumbling/carried to the top of the wall, he surveyed the battlefield inside the fortress...or what was left of it. Everything that was made from wood was now a smoldering ruin. Bodies littered the grounds, his men and the enemies. Another time, perhaps, he'd be proud at how little it seemed that his own men accounted for.

That would change soon though, they were already out of arrows and were now reduced to throwing whatever that was heavy they could find down on the enemy.

Thwoosh!

The man that had helped him up here had his head blown off, by a large spear, thrown by an enemy ballista. They already had those over the second wall?!

"Oh"

His gaze fell on a smoldering ruin in the wall where their catapults had, evidently, blown a large hole in the wall. They were surging through it like the relentless flood that they were. Here and there, siege weapons could be seen being brought through.

This wall, though, could withstand multiple hits from the catapults. It had been made from sheer granite. Thicker than any man was tall, having first scoffed at the idea of making a granite wall soo overly-thick, now praised it.

Perhaps Lord Kane had forseen something like this happening...or-

"Sir!"-a soldier said, running up to him, eyes widening.

"Yes?, what is it?"-Captain

"Sir... ahem, we are too few to man the wall now, what should we do?"

With tired eyes he looked around...the towers were meant for only a couple dozen, at most, to occupy them. The dome? It'd be a virtual cage of death for them...

"Sir...?"-soldier

The Captain closed his eyes, "Form up on one side of the wall, between two towers, place the wounded inside..."-he collapsed and would shortly there-after be dead.

The captain had been struck by multiple arrows on his back and basically died from blood-loss, if not the internal injuries themselves.

Following his commanding officer's final order, he relayed it to his remaining comrades...

Galatarins:

"Why are you taking soo long! We outnumber them at least a thousand to one!"-King Roman yelled furiously at the commander of his army.

"The towers are made very thick of granite, sire. The remainder of the enemy are holding up in them an-"-commander

"I don't care! Bring them down! We need to move on already!"-King Roman

"We're launching attacks as fast as we're able from the catapults. We continue as we are or move on and ignore them."-Commander.

"And leave enemy survivors to come back and attack us later on?! I think not!"-King Roman.

"Lao! Lao, where the bloody hell are your blasted torchers at!"-King Roman yelled in frustration. Lao's torchers (people responsible for carrying and lighting oil-filled containers for their fancy oil-lamps) would be very useful here.

King Roman began to realize that there were none of Lao's men in sight...

"That bastard! He left didn't he?!"-Roman begins a tirade of curses.

Saio'Shae's:

Lao-"That fool Roman is probably still attacking the few meager survivors of that monstrous fort"-he said to himself, chuckling at the thought of when he'd realized he was already gone for the next target.

He wouldn't needlessly spend time and resources just to make sure nobody survived...that, was just barbaric, idiotic.

With Illika, the closest city to their borders effectively wiped out, they could focus on attacking supply routes.

An army of their size needed a lot of logistics. It also had the benefit of wearing down the enemy forces too.

* _That fort was truly massive, larger than even my own castle!_ *-Lao thought, somewhat troubled. All things considered though, it went well. But if it had been properly maned and construction of its outer wall finished...Lao shivered at the thought of the lives it would've cost him to take it.

He'd let Roman go after whatever he wanted for now, as he'd make an excellent distraction. Meanwhile, he would go after ports and staging areas. He had no intention of facing Gaidon Kane on an open battlefield. No, he'd see every, single, city and peasant village raised to the ground first.

He was heading towards the port city of Shorn, the west coast's twin of the eastern coast port city Gartha. From there he'd probably head north, then south unless it would be better to do otherwise.

...

Outskirts of Shorn city:

Monsters stalked the darkness, waiting to pounce on any who would dare travel at night. Bums, run-aways, merchants, children that snuck out of home, all would meet a grisly end in their gaping maws.

Travelers from the countryside brought edgy stories of foreboding, of animals waiting for them in the woods...

The people whispered to each other in hushed corners all over the city. Talk of shadowy things moving in the darkness. Of fear and having no logical reason for being afraid, just a sudden urge to get home or to another city. Of impending doom and the current state of pirate attacks.

The latter, not soo much. After all, they had already weathered an attack on their port.

Talk of the impending war with the southern countries.

Talk of wether or not the Emperor was really a god made flesh...

All this talk would be silenced and replaced by yelling and screaming soon enough.

("'For the night is dark and full of terrors'.")


	6. Update

**A quick update:**

The story isn't dead, my computer simply died and with everything that's happened this year I cannot afford a new one. So stories are all on hiatus.


	7. Chapter 7

**A quick update:**

I spent this week's paycheck on a cheap laptop, so im back!...kinda. I still don't have a lot of time to spare, so please, bare with waiting a lil longer. I need to re-read my own stories and up date them all. Also, I do write non-fanfiction stories as well...…..

Bottom line: Updates coming soon1


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